Astronomy Tower
by KitKat-Pyrophobia
Summary: When the two are discovered at the Astronomy Tower, she instantly gets the wrong idea, because Merlin-forbid anyone uses the Astronomy Tower for Astronomy... Scorpius/Al oneshot


**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, or else Dumbledore wouldn't be the only one in the series who was homosexual… :D

**A/N:** Written for Anita, who puts up with my Rose/Scorpius nonsense, and deserves an Albus/Scorpius oneshot every once in a while. :D

First Albus/Scorpius... also first slash in general, so be gentle :D

On with the story!

* * *

"Stupid bloody Astronomy," Albus Potter grumbled as he stomped away from the tallest tower at Hogwarts Castle.

"What's got your wand in a knot?" Scorpius Malfoy asked with a raised eyebrow, turning the corner towards Al's voice and falling into step with the fellow fifth-year.

"Astronomy," Al spat the word with great distaste. "_Why_ are we required to take a class that you go to at bloody midnight?"

Scorpius chuckled at the other boy's dramatic tone.

"And where were you, anyway?" He demanded, his brow furrowing in anger at his friend, who must've been out doing something fun and mischievous, leaving his best friend to sit through the torture of the class.

Scorpius pointed to the large badge on his chest, marked with a silver "P".

"Are you kidding me? You actually get out of class for Prefect duty?" Al's eyebrows rose enviously. He never wanted to be a Prefect until just then.

"I have to make it up, of course, but yes." The tall blond shrugged.

"Lucky," The shorter boy mumbled.

A wide grin spread across Scorpius's face. "But don't you have that class with the Hufflepuffs? Weren't you overjoyed to have Annie Macmillan hanging all over you the entire lesson?" He teased.

Albus groaned at the memory. Scorpius was spot-on. "When will she realize that I don't fancy her?"

"When you stand on the table in the Great Hall and shout out that you don't like girls." Scorpius recommended, the mental image of the illustrious admission too much for him to not snicker about.

Al snorted. "That's likely."

Scorpius only continued seeing the humor in his friend's misfortune.

"I'll do it whenever you do," Al brightened slightly at the thought of half the female population breaking down, bawling at the revelation.

Scorpius sighed mock-tragically, and looped his arm around Al's shoulders. "Oh, Al," He shook his head dramatically. "Why do we have to be the two most sought-after blokes in the school?"

"Because I have a devilishly adorable charm about me, and you… are single." Albus cracked another smile.

Scorpius looked scandalized, and pushed his mate away from him. "I'll have you know that I am quite attractive." He said, as if anyone really _needed_ convincing… anyone with one working eye could see that.

Al laughed for the first time that night. He replaced his arm around Scorpius and said, "I know, I know." Rolling his eyes, he continued, "I hear about it from my cousin constantly."

Smiling rather guiltily, Scorpius sighed. Poor, clueless Rose Weasley….

"That's not to say that I don't agree with her, but it gets tiring to hear about," Al tinted slightly pink, but pushed feelings of shyness away.

"You think _you_ hear about it _me_ a lot? I have to pair up with Macmillan in Potions!" He wrinkled his nose, and made his voice several octaves higher, "'He's got such gorgeous green eyes… his hair sticks up so adorably… his voice is like a song… I want to snog him senseless!'" So, maybe the last one was an exaggeration, but he got the general idea right.

Al laughed; Scorpius knew he'd done his job right.

"I end up telling her almost every bloody class, 'I _know_ he's adorable—I don't want to hear about it from you!'"

Exhaling noisily, Al said, "Oh, how tragic life is when you're both good-looking and gay."

The blond laughed. "Go to bed, Al,"

They turned another corner, and stopped to part.

"When are you coming to the dorms?" He asked curiously. He never could understand how Scorpius could stay up almost every night well past midnight, and still do fine in classes, when just one Astronomy lesson a week caused his entire sleeping pattern to be ruined for days.

"After I finish patrolling the rest of the castle," Scorpius growled.

Al's eyebrows shot up again. "The whole thing? I thought you only had to do a bit of it!" The whole new Prefect thing was a ridiculous idea again, he decided.

"Damn Parkinson has skipped out on the past three days, so I'm stuck picking up the slack."

"Sorry, mate." With a sympathetic clap on his friend's back, Albus disentangled himself from the Malfoy.

"Yeah," Scorpius rolled his silver eyes. "See you later,"

"I'll be waiting," Al said jokingly, and over-exaggerated a wink.

Scorpius laughed as he walked away.

A was also smiling as he watched his friend leave, swaggering in a way that caused his chest to tighten.

He and Scorpius had an odd relationship. They were fast friends when they met on the Hogwarts Express in First Year, and only became closer when they were both Sorted into Slytherin. They figured that they should probably hate each other, on principle, being a Potter and a Malfoy, but couldn't bring themselves to when they realized they liked each other so much.

In their five years as best friends, they'd snuck out together using the infamous Marauder's Map from James, pranked teachers together, went through crushes and, ugh, puberty together, hated classes together… the list went on and on.

They'd also shared awkward moments together, like when Al got his first kiss in Third Year, and accidentally passed out, and the time when Scorpius realized he liked guys instead of girls in the same year.

That was, by far, the weirdest year of them all, when Al had tried to see his friend's reasoning behind fancying blokes over girls, succeeding, and coming to the conclusion that he was into guys as well. This was never properly stated between the two at the time—it was just something recognized and accepted without self-consciousness.

It didn't help his situation whatsoever when Al began crushing on Scorpius in Fourth Year. That was when all the teasing flirting began, mostly innocent, and both assumed that the other must be joking, but there was always some underlying tension between them.

He was still in denial for the most part, even in Fifth Year, and still told himself that it was a phase every time his heart raced around his best friend.

With all of his thoughts based entirely on a certain (long, silky, casually slicked back in the most charming way) blond-haired, (bright, deep, beautiful) silver eyed (amazing, perfect, funny) boy, Al was quite surprised when his feet brought him all the way to the foot of his bed in the Slytherin Sixth Year dorms.

Almost impressed with how well he would focus his attention when he wanted to, Al changed into pajamas and went to sleep.

* * *

"So, if that one is Pisces, does that make this one Libra?" Al muttered to himself, squinting into the eye of his telescope. He glanced down at his parchment, which, to him, just looked like someone had splattered ink on it. Still confused, and also quite resentful, he looked back through his telescope. "But I thought that Libra was more this way, but that would make Sagittarius all the way over here!" His mumbling continued until he heard the door to the tower open. Hoping that it wasn't another couple out for a late-night stroll, he looked toward the door.

"Oh, hey Al," Scorpius greeted brightly.

Al sighed in relief. It was only Scorpius; he was safe.

With a quick wave, Al went back to his parchment and his mumbling.

Setting up his state-of-the-art collapsible telescope, Scorpius looked at his friend's homework, the same paper he had just been assigned from Professor Sinistra.

"That's all wrong, mate," He said bluntly.

Al's head spun towards him, slight panic in his eyes. "What do you mean?"

The Malfoy positioned his telescope, looking for the brightest star in the sky. "Look here," He moved away, so Al could look through the eyepiece.

"Do you see that really bright one?"

Al nodded.

"That one is Sirius, which would make this," He picked up Al's parchment, and scribbled out one of his labels. "Ursa Major, not Ursa Minor."

He quickly scrawled the correct name.

"And over here," He moved the telescope again, "Is Lupus," He marked his own chart, "Which would make this one," He pointed accordingly, "Centaurus, and this one mine," He smiled as he wrote his own name in the chart.

"How can you tell which one is yours?" Al asked, seeing no difference between the constellations.

"Because you can see that big red one in the middle," He pointed out Antares.

"Oh, you're right!" Al grasped the telescope excitedly, now seeing the exact shape the stars were trying to make.

Scorpius chucked as his friend's demeanor brightened, making him look like a child, not a matured, fifteen-year-old boy.

Al looked up at Scorpius, grinning widely.

"Come on, Al, this is First Year stuff!"

Sticking his tongue out, canceling out anything Scorpius considered maturity, Al gazed back through Scorpius's instrument, completely forgetting about his own.

Scorpius still watched Al, smiling warmly.

"So, if this is Scorpius," He mumbled, "Then that would make… this one Libra, and _that_ one Sagittarius!"

Just as the raven-haired boy reached for his parchment and quill, a rather strong breeze caused them both to fly off the ledge of the building.

"Damn," He muttered, watching the square of pale yellow drift down to the grounds.

"Summon it," Scorpius suggested as he watched his supplies float down as well.

Al reached into the back pocket of his jeans, and noted the absence of a thin piece of wood. "Forgot it," He said apologetically.

"Me, too," Scorpius said, rather sheepishly.

"Damn," The other boy cursed again. "We have to go get them, then?"

Scorpius nodded solemnly, and they simultaneously folded up their telescopes to the size of a Pygmy Puff, and stored them in their respective pockets.

Another gust of wind blew, and Al dawdled, enjoying the feel of the air on his skin. This was perfect weather, he decided, with a light breeze and warm air, but not when he had bloody Astronomy homework to finish.

Scorpius stopped, too, to watch his friend, something he'd found himself doing a lot.

Neither of them was bothered to realize how closely they were standing, as it was completely natural for them.

A giggle sounded, from neither of the boys, and the door slammed open noisily.

A Ravenclaw girl and an equally Ravenclaw boy pranced onto the stone floor, hand-in-hand.

"Oh," She said, noticing the pair. "Sorry," A suggestive smile betrayed what she was thinking, as anyone would, at the sight of two people standing quite near each other, in the middle of the night, in the, arguably, most romantic spot in the entire grounds.

"Wait," Al began to quickly defend them, even though it really _wasn't_ any of her business what they were doing. "No, we weren't—"

"Then…?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Homework," They answered in unison, only adding to the skepticism on her face.

"Where's your quill and parchment?" She asked smugly.

The looked over the ledge, dejected.

She looked pointedly at their heads, where both of their hair was messy.

"It was the wind!" Scorpius exclaimed at the same time Al said, "It's always like this!"

She giggled in a way that made them both know that her wrong assumption was not going to stay up in the tower. "Come on," She suggested to the boy still standing awkwardly on her arm, "This space is taken."

Both of the boys glared at her.

"Yeah, because Merlin-forbid someone uses the Astronomy Tower for Astronomy!" Al called after the girl.

Another obnoxious giggle was heard.

The two groaned inwardly, and wordlessly made their way to the dorms to get their wands and Summon their parchment, which, with the wind, would never be found if they looked for it.

After that simple spell, the two were exhausted in a way that they knew wasn't at all because of doing magic.

* * *

The morning was tense the two got ready for the day, mentally preparing themselves for the worst. Though they neither knew much about the girl who spotted them, other than she was a Ravenclaw, she seemed like she was very well connected.

They didn't even feel up to stealing unseen glances at each other as they dressed.

"Pessimism up to its usual standard?" Scorpius mumbled as he reached for the door handle, holding the door open for Albus in the same way he'd been doing since they first met.

"Yup," Al responded soberly, his voice missing the usual brightness that Scorpius loved to hear.

During the walk to the Great Hall for breakfast, the two learned just how hard it was to block out the sound of a bunch of a giggling girls and whispering guys.

By the time they sat down at the end of the Slytherin table, purposefully facing the wall, the feeling of incessant stares was burning their skin.

They exchanged an exhausted look.

Al reached for a piece of toast, took a bite, and realized he wasn't hungry.

Scorpius took a swig of pumpkin juice and found that he was hydrated enough for the time being.

Al sighed heavily, knowing that this wasn't going to stop, and there was really no way out of it.

Scorpius stole a quick look around the Hall, and turned back around towards the lovely wall with a scowl.

"How many?"

"I'm going to say… about eighty percent? All the girls, definitely. There are even a few Gryffindors standing up for a better look." He replied grudgingly.

Al groaned. That Ravenclaw bitch. "What are our options?"

"Leave; insist we aren't a couple, which they won't believe; or," Scorpius's eyes darkened slyly, "We please the masses."

The way Scorpius was smirking made Albus feel squirmy. "What do you mean, 'please the ma—"

Hands knotted abruptly in his unruly hair, pulling his face to Scorpius's.

Though shocked, Al closed his widened eyes, and relaxed into Scorpius's fiery, yet chaste, kiss.

Wolf-whistles and giggles went unnoticed by the pair, whose blood was pounding in their ears, blocking out any noise other than their heartbeats. Though this was done just be exhibitionists, there was honestly nothing that felt more _right_.

They broke apart, lips tingling, hearts racing, looking at each other wide eyed: Scorpius's from confusion, Al's from shock.

Eyebrows raising, looking almost haughtily impressed, the corners of his mouth turned up into a smile, Scorpius cradled the side of Albus's face and pulled him into another kiss, completely oblivious to the fact that there were at least eight hundred eyes staring at them.

This time more prepared, though none of the electricity had worn off, Al tilted his head opposite of Scorpius's, and allowed him to deepen the kiss. Their lips moved in perfect rhythm, as if they knew the others' premeditated actions already.

Merlin, this felt amazing.

They pulled apart again, and, for the first time, became aware that they were still in the Great Hall, amongst a thousand of their classmates, most of who were gawking at them.

Smiling lightly at Scorpius, Al asked, "Option one?"

With a chuckle, Scorpius stood up at the same time as Albus.

Smiling at each other again, unable to really stop, Scorpius slipping his hand in Al's, where the smaller boy took the liberty to link their fingers, both suddenly feeling possessive of each other.

Affection was practically _dripping_ off them.

"Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall's stern voice stopped them as they were nearly out the door, looking straight forward, ignoring whispers and giggles and catcalls alike. "Ten points from Slytherin, and detention tomorrow night." Her lips were a thin line, her frown lines more evident than ever. "Public displays of Affection will _not_ be tolerated in the Great Hall."

Scorpius grinned mischievously as he looked back at the woman. After glancing quickly at Al, he replied, "Looking forward to it, Minnie."

The sound of Al's chuckle was the cue for the two of them to leave the habitants of the Great Hall in a mix of emotions—the most evident of which was envy.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm one of those girls who have a complete vendetta against Valentine's Day… but I still write a oneshot in celebration of the god-forsaken holiday… plus I'm off school, and got inspired.

What, a Kat-written fic where there isn't a long, drawn-out love confession?!?! Haha. I didn't think it was possible, either.

Oh, and I haven't studied Astronomy a day in my life, so if the Astronomy scene seems like complete nonsense, it's because it really is. The only star I know is Sirius, and I knew Scorpius's (and a lot of people in his family, actually) name came from a constellation... that's about the extent of my knowledge. Google to the rescue! :D

PLEASE_PLEASE__**PLEASE**_ review! Even if it's to tell me that they were too fluffy for their own good, or that they were freaking adorable… which they are. XP

Thanks for reading, and _reviewing_!!!! *hint hint*

_KitKat Pyrophobia_


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